Live Lice Free-The Headlice Handbook

Live Lice Free The Headlice Handbook

Tips, tricks, articles and remedies so you too can beat the little nasties forever!

Live Lice Free

The Headlice Handbook

Tips, Tricks, Articles and Safe, Natural Remedies.

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... 3 Head Lice information and FAQ ...... 7 What Do Head Lice Look Like?...... 9 Head Lice Home Remedies? But Don’t PEOPLE Get Head Lice?.... 12 The Things Chemical Head Lice Product Manufacturers Don’t Want You to Know...... 16 Eliminate Lice Safely – How to Choose a Head Lice Treatment...... 21 Does Mayonnaise Treat Head lice? 3 Alternative Tips...... 25 Method One - Essential Oils - Our Head Lice Recipe for Success.... 27 ZAP! Our Head Lice Remedy ...... 30 Method Two - Heat ...... 35 The Essential Oil Home Medicine Chest – The Oils...... 36 Safe Remedy For Pregnancy ...... 42 More Safe Home Remedies ...... 44 Proceed With Caution...... 61 Do Not Pass Go...... 62 Head Lice Prevention Methods...... 65 Voices from The Live Lice Free Forums ...... 68

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Live Lice Free Introduction

I started to write this book a few months ago when I was living with my only sibling and her beautiful daughter. I don’t have any children of my own so I take my Auntie’s duties very, very seriously.

My niece had beautiful long thick hair and like a lot of young ones had a terrible time with head lice and nits.

We tried every type of nit shampoo, spending hundreds of dollars on different types. I was understandably concerned about the fact we were putting pesticide-based preparations containing powerful neuro-toxins on her young scalp, but unaware of our options, we followed the pharmacist’s and our doctor’s advice blindly.

Only… we would try the latest treatment recommended to us, just to have live lice running around in her hair the very next day or in some cases, immediately after treatment. We were following directions to the absolute letter. Nothing was working, no matter how much we paid.

We were at our wits end.

In desperation, my sister cut all of her beautiful hair and even bleached it. My beautiful niece now has an orange bob.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Still, the evil little nasties kept returning.

It distressed me terribly to hear her cry as yet another product was tried and Mum would spend hours combing through her dried out hair, squashing bugs and removing nits. She is such a good girl, I tell not a lie when I say this was one of the very few times I have ever seen her cry, and the others have been when she was hurt. This was not naughtiness, this was real pain.

So I started to do some research. I wanted to know why these products were not working. I was as mad as hell and I wasn’t going to take it anymore!

I learned that head lice were more or less resistant to ALL chemical compounds, much like cockroaches. The pesticide shampoos do far more harm than good - lab tests reporting cancer causing agents and blood disorders in animal testing from certain head lice treatments.

I needed to hear what other mothers had to say about the subject.

I told my sister I was going to be picking my niece up from school for the next two weeks (she readily agreed).

I spent 20 minutes before the bell rang walking around and chatting with groups of mothers about their battles with head lice and their solution to the problem.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

ALL of the mothers I spoke to reported that chemical head lice treatments were completely useless, even though they had followed the directions to the letter. Most of them had beaten their nit problem through other means after spending thousands collectively on useless nit products.

I was so annoyed that the makers of these products preyed on the desperation of these mothers to make a quick buck by selling them useless and potentially dangerous so called ‘remedies.’

We talked about the active ingredients contained in lice- treating formulas which are usually pesticides. These chemicals have been proven to be carcinogenic and to cause all sorts of interesting complications. Continued applications of lice treating medications are proven to be dangerous.

While headlice are not known to transmit diseases, just the thought that the itchiness is caused by the saliva and feces of the lice which irritate the skin, was enough to drive some parents to distraction. Many of the mothers had lost your patience and resorted to drastic methods that they had later regretted, like using flea spray, gasoline and pet shampoo.

The use of sprays or ‘bug bombs’ is also not advisable as they can be toxic if your children inhale the fumes and can also be dangerous for your pets.

One mother gave me the recipe for her own home made head lice shampoo that had been effective in eliminating head lice in

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook her children when all other over the counter products had been completely ineffective.

I wrote to a variety of different experts and asked them to send me as much information as they could on their subject. All were happy to oblige (especially the environmentally conscious who are concerned about the impact of pesticides on society).

This book is the result of these findings. I know for a fact that these have all been tried and tested so that you don’t have to. If you have discovered this information before you have spent an absolute fortune on useless nit products, you can thank your lucky stars you can learn from our mistakes without having to make them all yourself.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Head Lice information and FAQ

What do head lice look like?

Human lice are minuscule, wingless insects, about 1 – 5mm long (about the size of a sesame seed) and are either light grey or dark brown in appearance (depending on how much blood has been ingested). The live eggs are dark brown and ‘pop’ between your fingernails. They can be found very close to the scalp. Dead eggs are white.

Head lice have six jointed legs that end in small claws which enable them to move through the hair quickly and easily. Most importantly this enables them to cling to the hair to prevent them being dislodged.

What causes head lice?

While head lice are extremely well adapted to moving through the hair of their host, they cannot jump nor crawl very far.

Although it has not been conclusively proven how head lice are spread, it is most likely through head to head contact alone, or to a much lesser extent, through sharing brushes, combs, pillows and head wear etc.

Head lice affect people from all walks of life and all socio- economic classes. Contrary to popular belief head lice actually prefer clean hair as greasy hair is difficult for lice to attach their eggs to. Regular washing will not prevent or deter head lice.

Head lice do not feed on anything but human blood and do not infect pets or other animals.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Where do head lice come from?

Head lice are a human parasite and have probably been around since time began. They can only survive on humans and so therefore do not reside in the ground or on pets. Head lice are not fussy where they live as long as it is clean so they can attach their eggs, and simply travel from host to host.

How do I know if I have head lice?

Lice are usually found at the nape of the neck or behind the ears so check here first to identify whether or not there is a presence of live lice.

The head louse feeds by biting into the scalp and then inserting its proboscis into a blood vessel along with saliva to stop the blood from clotting (much like a mosquito). It is this saliva that causes the irritation that leads to the itching. Itching is usually the first sign of a head lice infestation.

Do I need to wash everything in hot water and rid my home of lice and eggs?

Adults and nymphs are only able to survive for 2-3 days off the host in optimal conditions. Under normal circumstances however this is more likely to be measured in hours rather than days as the adult louse is highly susceptible to dehydration and will quickly starve.

Eggs can survive away from the head for up to 7 days but will not hatch without the warmth of a human host. With this in mind it is fairly obvious that compulsively cleaning is not required, in preference to killing all the adult lice and eggs. It is preferable to take preventative steps to ensure live lice don’t return to the head.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Do not be persuaded to use pesticide bombs that unnecessarily expose your family to dangerous chemicals.

What are the life cycle and incubation periods of head lice?

The first stage of the life of a head louse is the egg, which the adult attaches to the hair with nit glue very close to the scalp for warmth. This glue is very strong and makes manual removal very difficult. The term ‘nit’ refers to the empty shell left behind once the egg has hatched.

In 5-9 days the egg hatches into the nymphal stage, which is the early stages of the adult louse. The nymph immediately seeks out a suitable place to feed. Over the next 7-10 days the nymphs will shed their exoskeleton in three separate metamorphoses before they mature into adult lice. These are the remains that are seen in an ongoing infestation. In the immature nymphal stage the louse does not lay eggs.

Once mated, the adult female louse can then lays around 3-4 eggs a day until the end of her adult life (around 30 days).

Can head lice be drowned in water?

Head lice are well adapted to moving through the hair and have hooks that they use to latch on for dear life. In the water they are exactly the same except they also close their breathing holes. To drown head lice you would need to submerge your head in water for up to 8 hours.

Don’t even worry about catching nits from pools or the sea, this is highly unlikely and not worth worrying about.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook What Do Head Lice Look Like? Head Lice Symptoms to Look Out For.

When a child comes home scratching, or is sent home with the dreaded head lice notice, a cold fear grips a parent. They’ve heard the rumours; deep down they know they are true.

The first thing they will think is, “Oh no, have they got head lice?” If they have been there before, they know the drill. If this is a new problem that has never been encountered however, that question is quickly followed by “Well, what does head lice look like?”

Head lice are one of a few different types of louse that invade the body. Due to their stature, they all can be a little difficult to accurately identify. Their effects are inescapable however and the telltale head lice symptoms difficult to ignore.

First of all your child may complain they can feel something moving around their head, causing tickling and irritation to their scalp. Another dead giveaway is the itching and scratching caused by the bites and faeces of the wee nasties. Itching may not start straight away however as it takes a while for the saliva to cause the irritation, so it pays to actively seek them out. This is especially important if you know they have been exposed to a carrier.

In order for head lice to survive they must congregate where it is warmest and most humid, so you will find them at the nape of the neck or behind the ears where the hair is thickest. Part the hair in these places to try and identify the infestation.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

What to look for:

Adult lice: These are tiny creatures, about the size of a sesame seed. They are tan and move at lightning speed through hair. The female louse is slightly bigger than the male. Both live for around 30 days. In this time the female will lay around 50 – 100 eggs.

Head lice are well adapted to live on a human head, with powerful front legs. Each front leg is appended with a hook, this allows them to get a firm grip of the hair and move through with the greatest of ease.

Nymphs: These are immature head lice which look just like their parents, only smaller. Their colour changes to blend in with their surroundings, so the darker the hair, the darker the colour of the nymph.

Lice eggs, or nits: These are tiny brown, white or clear tear shaped drops that cling vehemently to the hair shaft close to the scalp where it is warmest, and are extremely difficult to remove. They are attached with glue produced by the adult that wraps right around the shaft, like a donut. This is almost impossible to break, resulting in the egg needing to be slid right down the shaft to the end of the hair in order to remove it. Live eggs are brown and the clear or white eggs are dead.

As well as lice, nymphs or eggs, you may see small red bumps where they have been biting or you may see signs of a rash. Scratching can lead to infection, in which case there may be scabbing and oozing. This area will be tender and red to the touch.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Head Lice Home Remedies? But Don’t PEOPLE Get Head Lice?

When a child comes home with a case of head lice the battle cries have a common theme, and that is to “Wash everything in hot water!” “Bag everything up for a month!” “Throw away the brushes and combs!” “Vacuum everywhere and disinfect everything they have touched!” Some products ‘recommend’ that we bomb the entire home with chemicals.

The problem with this misadvice is parents sometimes delay the removal of lice from the child’s head until meticulous cleaning of the home is carried out.

But how much of this compulsive cleaning is actually necessary?

Do we really need to go to such extremes to get rid of head lice? Why the head lice HOME remedies? Don’t CHILDREN get head lice, not houses?

When a parent is presented with the head lice notice or they receive the dreaded phone call from the school to pick up their child because they have lice, there is the inevitable knee jerk reaction. The patently human ‘fight or flight’ response renders them unable to think of anything other a large hole swallowing them (flight) usually followed by an almost irresistible urge to do anything it takes (fight) to get rid of their head lice problem.

The real problem with head lice is not enough studies have been done to actually prove or disprove these theories, some that have been bantered around willy nilly for centuries. We are still not sure how head lice are actually spread, due to a lack of evidence in this area.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Rick Speare (PhD, MBBS) from the Head Lice Research Centre at James Cook University in Queensland Australia has run several head lice studies to find solid evidence to try and prove or disprove these common assumptions. He and his team have come the closest to discovering the real answers to these pressing questions in my opinion.

In an article published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (Vol 26 No.3) one study conducted on 2,230 children in 118 classrooms in Townsville, North Queensland; 466 were found to have lice. Seven state primary schools were involved in nine surveys. A total of 14,033 live lice were removed from the heads of infected children.

108 of the 118 classrooms had infected pupils, averaging a total of 129.9 lice collected from their head for each classroom. The number of lice or eggs that were found on the carpeted classroom floors?

Zero.

It was concluded therefore that that a ratio of 14,033 to zero indicates that the risk of children being infected by transferral from carpets is, well, zero. Floors carry absolutely no risk of head lice transferral at all. There is absolutely no benefit in the compulsive cleaning of floors. The focus beyond the shadow of a doubt should be the removal the lice and eggs from the head, with minimal effort put into eliminating non-existent lice and eggs from the carpet.

Speare and his team ran another study to discover the role of bedding and therefore clothing and toys in the transferral of head lice. 48 pillowcases were collected from 47 children and one adult. Each had an average to medium intensity with ranging from 1 – 416 lice present.

The number of lice removed from the pillowcases?

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Two.

So while there was a 4.2% chance of the transferal of lice from the pillowcases, the risk was still there. Therefore further tests were done.

It was found that test lice enclosed in a miniature pillowcase washed in the machine were killed at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Being in the tumble dryer for 15 minutes had the same effect, as did ironing the mini pillowcase. The lice were found alive and well after a cold wash, as were they after being hung out on the line in the sun.

It was concluded that that a hot wash would take care of any head lice and nits found on bedding, soft toys or clothing. 15 minutes in a dryer would also spell certain death to the wee nasties, in the highly unlikely event they would leave the head in the first place.

In a study conducted on the transferral of head lice through sharing brushes, Speare concluded that “hard data was still needed,” as results were inconclusive. Four different studies showed hair brushes had no role at all to play in the transferral, one showed that they did. However the heating of hair brushes and supplies for 15 minutes in water or tied up in a pillowcase in the dryer was also sufficient to kill wayward lice and eggs.

Speare’s final conclusion is that head lice are almost certainly spread through head to head contact alone. Lice are extremely adept at moving through hair, but should they find themselves away from the head they are almost undoubtedly doomed. He believes that pesticides designed to eradicate your home of head lice should be removed from the market as they are not only unnecessary, they have the potential to cause serious damage through poisoning.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

So in light of this evidence, Speare concluded time is far best spent removing head lice from heads, rather than embarking on a full scale war with your home. As for the floor and furnishings, hot soapy water and a vacuum is recommended, but more for your peace of mind.

Time is far best spent preventing a return of head lice to the head than finding a head lice remedy for your home.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook The Things Chemical Head Lice Product Manufacturers Don’t Want You to Know.

If you’ve been the victim of head lice for any amount of time, you know that they are one of the worst things that can happen to you both physically and psychologically. It will be a time in your life you will never forget.

To chemical product manufacturers, this problem is worth a massive amount of money to them every year, with over $100 million being made on head lice control in the US alone.

The EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for testing and making sure most pesticide products destined for use on US children are safe.

No pesticide is legally allowed to be advertised as safe.

However, Pediculicides (lice-killing pesticides) are regulated by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) which causes the confusion: “If the FDA approved it, it must be safe?”

This leads many people to believe (including those who prescribe and sell these medications) that these toxic pesticide products (like roach spray and weed killer) are harmless.

This common misconception leads to alarming overuse of these potent and harmful pesticides on fragile children, some of the mothers I spoke to even buying a head lice product every week with the grocery money. Some schools even share this belief and require proof that pesticide product has been applied, rather than simply checking whether or not the child still has lice!

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

All pesticides have the potential to do serious harm and each individual has unique vulnerabilities and potential to react differently to these chemicals.

Although the FDA requires testing before the product can be approved, it cannot foresee potential problems in every individual, commonly hearing about them after the damage has been done. A process of elimination then begins, and only when it is shown that the only thing in common all the children with leukemia have is that they have all used the same head lice treatment containing the same chemical.

The NPA (National Pediculosis Association) warns that chemical head lice products should NOT be used on children with a pre- existing illness, such as asthma, epilepsy or tumours. Those on medication should not be treated, as should those who have been previously treated for head lice, as the chemicals can build in the body to dangerous levels.

If this is the recommendation, WHY is this not on the bottles of these chemical head lice products?

Pediculicides are nerve poisons designed to interfere with the nervous system of lice. What is ALSO not revealed to us is that they interfere with OUR nervous system while they're at it.

To make things even worse, children's growing bodies are far less able to process these chemicals.

Children’s sensitive bodies have less developed immune systems, their detoxification processes are not yet developed and their organs are still growing. This makes them far more susceptible and sensitive to the toxic threats of pesticides. i.e.:

Lindane (Kwell): Applications of lice treating medications containing Lindane have been proven to be extremely dangerous. Lab tests reported cancer causing agents, blood

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook disorders, damage to the liver, kidney, nervous and immune systems and DEATH in animal testing from treatments containing this chemical. This toxic chemical is the working ingredient in over 2 million prescriptions for head lice and scabies.

According to PANNA (Pesticide Action Network North America): "Lindane can cause seizures and damage to the nervous system, and can weaken the immune system. Case-controlled research shows a significant association between brain tumors in children and the use of lindane-containing lice shampoos. The insecticide is also a suspected carcinogen (contains cancer causing agents) and hormone disruptor."

New York followed California in banning the chemical compound Lindane and it is now banned in 52 countries. Despite this damning evidence, parts of the US still allow prescriptions containing Lindane in pharmaceutical compounds.

Malathion (or Maldison as it is know in NZ and Australia ): Is a highly toxic derivative of nerve gas which works by disrupting the chemical reactions in the lice's (and our) nervous system. Extremely toxic orally, Malathion is a possible carcinogen, mutagen (Mutates DNA) and endocrine disruptor. In its raw state, malathion is readily absorbed into the skin.

Headline from PANNA: Woman Numb After Malathion Headlice Treatment

Pyrethroid Pesticides: These are known to be toxic to the Thyroid and Immune System, amongst other concerns. Scientific studies of Sumithrin, Resmethrin and Permethrin also reveal serious safety concerns and are possible carcinogens. German studies link exposure to Permethrin and also Phenothrin with leukaemia, lymphoid cancer and multiple chemical sensitivity.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

And it is not just the chemicals in these pesticide preparations that we need to look out for.

Head lice pesticide preparations contain both 'inert' and 'active' ingredients. The active ingredients are the chemicals that kill the lice, the inert are the carriers for these chemicals.

For example, the chemical may be dissolved in a solvent, which in other preparations that solvent may be an active ingredient. In this case however, it would be labeled as an inert, as has been found that this carrier promotes the chemical efficacy and helps them kill the lice.

However, just because the solvent is labeled 'inert' does not make it 'harmless.' It is simply not an active ingredient in this preparation. Exposure to these toxic solvents can be significantly worse than the actual chemicals themselves!

And what's more, they are simply not WORKING anymore!

Chemical head lice product manufacturers also refuse to admit that their products are becoming less and less effective against head lice as the lice build up more and more of a tolerance to the different chemicals.

Resistance is caused when the host is infected with one or two adults who are naturally resistant to the chemical and do not die. These two adults then reproduce and you have a whole new batch of lice that are resistant to that chemical. When you retreat with the same chemical treatment it is then of no use whatsoever to the new super breed of lice.

According to a 1996 study conducted on 300,000 primary schoolchildren at 31 schools spread across the five health authorities of Wales, the researchers concluded that as many as 80% of 316 lice tested were resistant to these very chemicals.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Are we REALLY prepared to put our children in THIS much danger for a shocking, mind boggling 20% success rate?

Using pesticide bombs also unnecessarily expose your family to dangerous chemicals. Adults and nymphs are only able to survive for 2-3 days off the host in optimal conditions. Under normal circumstances however this is more likely to be measured in hours rather than days as the adult louse is highly susceptible to dehydration and will quickly starve. Eggs can survive away from the host for up to 7 days but will not hatch without the warmth of a human host.

With this in mind it is fairly obvious that compulsive cleaning is also unnecessary. Vacuuming and wiping surfaces with a soapy sponge is sufficient. Simply vacuum the area where the child has sat, on car seats and in bedrooms.

Save your energy for what matters most, ridding your child's head of lice and eggs.

The highly profitable chemical and pharmaceutical industry will also have you believe that natural remedies are ‘anecdotal’ (unreliable) and are not scientifically proven, but independent studies by average everyday parents and caregivers show that there are many different natural therapies which are proven to be 100% effective.

NO over the counter or prescription headlice preparation has been proven to be 100% safe and effective, and repeated use leads to ongoing outbreaks, toxic build up in the system and resistance to the pesticides.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Eliminate Lice Safely – How to Choose a Head Lice Treatment.

When a child is sent home with head lice or arrives with the dreaded head lice notice, all mothers feel the same panic rising from their pit of their stomach. Couple this with a bit of anxiety and some good old fashioned guilt, a bit of wondering how on earth this could happen to them and you have a parent primed to do whatever it takes to get rid of head lice, no matter what it is.

If you are anything like us, you’ll wonder how they contracted these parasites in the first place thinking, “But we’re not dirty, how on EARTH could we get lice?!”

Well we found out fairly quickly after a call to the pharmacy where the pharmacist informed us that head lice actually prefer clean hair, but will live anywhere. Dirty hair just makes it a little harder to move around that’s all. This is followed by the mandatory over the counter treatment of the day which is almost certainly a pesticide based preparation. Cha ching goes the cash register and out walks another drop to add to the 100 million dollar bucket, and that’s just in the US alone.

What most parents do not realise (just as we didn’t) is that these chemical products contain the same pesticides used in rat poison, lawn treatments, fly spray and other chemical agents which affect the central nervous system of both the pest, and unfortunately the host as well. These chemical agents have the potential to do serious harm, even if used 100% as directed.

To make matters worse, our children are especially at risk because they have a higher percentage of scalp surface per kilo of body weight, so they absorb more chemical. Children’s immune systems are not as developed and don’t deal with toxic

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook chemicals as well as adults making them particularly vulnerable to toxic threats. Parents need to be aware that just because they are prescribed or bought over the counter they may not be safe, in fact they may have the potential to cause serious harm, even if used as directed.

If you absolutely HAVE to use an over the counter or prescription remedy for whatever reason, please use the following as a guide to choosing the safest possible treatment for use on your family.

Read the instructions through carefully and adhere to them strictly. When I was speaking to people to research this book I spoke to mothers that had left their chemical based head lice products on their children overnight. I read about one lady who had left it on overnight then woken in what felt like a brain fog with extremely sore muscles. She had felt extremely unwell, like she had been poisoned. Carefully follow the instructions and do not deviate from them in the slightest.

Avoid Lindane based preparations as though your life depends on it, as the case may very well be for your child. All pesticides are poisons, but Lindane has been proven to be carcinogenic (contain cancer causing agents) and cause brain tumours as well as a host of other problems, including blood disorders, damage to the liver, kidney, nervous and immune systems and DEATH. Although banned in 52 countries, this toxic chemical is the working ingredient in over 2 million prescriptions for head lice and scabies in the US.

If the label says to not use the product more than once a fortnight, then do not use it more than once a fortnight. This one is very important as using pesticides more frequently than is required can be fatal.

Do not use conditioner with head lice treatments as they reduce their effectiveness.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Head lice treatments were never meant to be used as a preventative measure. Do not simply treat your children for head lice because they may have been exposed to them. Besides being an overwhelmingly drastic measure and an unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals they simply do not work in this way.

If a product does not work once, it is not going to work again. In fact the lice that are not killed by that preparation reproduce into a super breed of lice almost totally resistant to that chemical. Instead return the product to the store and report the chemical to the NPA – a not for profit organization for the safe treatment of head lice.

You may find this warning on the chemical head lice treatment: “Do not use if you have any cuts, scratches or inflammation…” such as those caused by head lice. Some also warn they should not be used if you have a pre-existing condition such as epilepsy, asthma, any immune dysfunction or allergies, also take care the chemical is not used on anyone who is sickly or weak.

If your child is under 3, do not use a pesticide based product on them PERIOD. The surface area of their heads and the absorption rate is off the charts as well as having almost NO resistance to the effects. The same goes if you are pregnant or nursing. The chemical is transferred through the placenta or breast milk directly to your baby.

Pesticide head lice treatments are for heads only, they are not for use on eyelashes or eyebrows. Use Vaseline and a cotton bud to cover these sensitive areas and smother the eggs and lice.

When washing out chemical preparations, do it over the sink to reduce absorption from the rest of the body. Hang the head over the sink so the water washes down and hold a flannel over to protect the eyes.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Keep ALL pesticides out of the reach of children, including those for headlice. Some can be fatal if ingested.

The ONLY safe way to get rid of headlice permanently is to use a totally natural alternative to the chemical preparations on the market.

Our remedy provides you with a safe, natural alternative that has already been proven to work. You will always have the remedy so you will be able to kill lice for a lifetime, not that you will need to but it is a relief to know it can be made up at any time.

Live Lice Free also features a host of natural and safe remedies provided by the mothers I spoke to at my niece’s school, many of which will almost definitely be found in your home right now.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Does Mayonnaise Treat Head lice? 3 Alternative Tips to Smother Lice.

Many and varied are the head lice home remedies that are bantered about the playground while mothers wait for their children to appear, not to mention all over the internet. But how many of these home remedies for head lice are valid, and how many are simply old wives tales?

Of all the head lice home remedies that there are out there, none is more familiar than the old: “Coat the hair thickly in mayo and leave overnight under a shower cap.” It is the most popular home remedy mentioned, second only to vinegar for removal of the nit glue that attaches the nits to the hair shaft.

When researching Live Lice Free – The Head Lice Handbook, mayo was by far and away the most touted remedy for curing head lice by a mile. But why does this method seem to work, when dangerous chemicals and pesticide bombs seem to fail?

Well, this method is successful because it blocks the breathing holes of the lice and smothers them. Head lice can block their breathing holes for up to 8 hours so drowning them in water is out of the question, but they can be smothered with oil, as long as you are able to cover the lice completely.

Thick, greasy mayo does the trick.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about the thought of putting this gooey, smelly mixture in my hair that just turns my stomach. Years as a chef has taught me that there is something a little wrong with this picture, all the videos we were shown of fast multiplying bacteria springing back to mind with a vengeance and whispers of ‘Salmonella, anyone?’ echoing in my brain.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Surely there has to be something a little less… well, ‘mayoey’, to kill head lice?

If smothering your lice is your chosen method of removal, there are many different options that are available, that don’t involve egg yolks, warmth and children.

1. Baby oil has exactly the same effect. Comb your child’s hair thoroughly through with the baby oil and cover with a shower cap. Place a sweat band around the base of the cap so that the oil does not run into the child’s eyes. You can leave this for a few minutes and then comb the stunned lice out while they are trapped in the oil, or leave on overnight for the lice to smother.

2. Get a bottle of thick white conditioner from the supermarket. Make sure it is thick and there is a lot. Cover your child’s hair so it is completely coated. You can then do the same, comb through and manually remove stunned lice, or you can cover and leave overnight so they smother.

3. Olive oil is another method of smothering or stunning lice and is also a popular remedy. Works very much the same as baby oil but also dissolves the exoskeletons of the lice, making it the most effective option.

With all of these remedies, all, and I’m talking ALL of the eggs must be removed manually, or the process must be repeated.

Smothering does not kill the nits, only manual removal will get them all out, or a natural remedy that kills both lice and nits. If you miss just one, your re-infestation will be swift and merciless.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Breaking the Head Lice Life Cycle WITHOUT Manually Removing Eggs.

If you want to get rid of head lice through killing the lice alone, without having to remove every single living egg, you need to follow these 3 steps:

1. Discover the source of the infestation and ensure the child is protected in this situation. 2. Break the life cycle by treating once a week for three weeks (preferably on a Sunday, so live lice are all killed for school). 3. Ensure the lice never return.

Breaking the head lice life cycle.

Head lice live for around 33 days, 5-7 of which is spent as a nit attached to the hair shaft. Smothering will not kill the nits, so extra effort is required to get rid of them. The nits are extremely difficult to remove, and if just one hatches, the infestation will start all over again.

This is why it is important to treat again after 7-8 days, to ensure you kill any nymphs that hatch in this period, BEFORE they are old enough to lay any more eggs.

Once you have taken these steps, it is recommended to treat a third time, another 7-8 days later. This will ensure you have broken the life cycle once and for all.

How this works:

When the infestation is first discovered, the live lice have more than likely laid eggs. Treatment is done to kill all live lice.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

7 days later treatment is repeated. This will kill any lice that have hatched out of eggs, before they are able to lay more.

7 days later, repeat treatment for a final time. This will kill any nymphs that were still in the eggs the previous treatment. There may still be nits in the hair, but they have all hatched and been dealt with.

When you take these steps to break the life cycle, manual removal of all eggs is not necessary.

Once you have eradicated all live lice and all living eggs have hatched, it is important to take prevention steps to make certain they never return.

First and foremost, we must work on removing all live lice from the head.

So let’s begin!

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Method One - Essential Oils - Our Head Lice Recipe for Success

Many mothers spoke of the virtues of essential oils. Any completely natural head lice remedies that you will find will be a mixture of essential oils in cold pressed carrier oil such as Olive and Jojoba (particularly effective), Macadamia and Avocado Oil. You can also use Mineral Oil such as Baby Oil.

Sweet Almond oil has a multitude of natural uses as well, such as a lovely in shower moisturiser. It contains olein glyceride linoleic acid and is rich in minerals, vitamins and proteins.

It can also be useful as an eye makeup remover, as an anti- wrinkle oil and to reduce scars. One mother swore that it had reduced her stretch marks and helped to keep her skin soft, elastic and young looking, far better than any moisturiser. She also said it made a lovely soap substitute.

It is nice and gentle for babies as well so safe to be used on them to help comb out lice and eggs.

Neem Seed Oil has been used in India for thousands of years as a natural insecticide. Products that contain Neem oil have been shown to be the best natural treatment for lice. These can all be purchased from your naturopath.

Cold Pressed Oils (the most readily available being Olive Oil), helps by dissolving the exoskeletons of the lice.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

The following essential oils can be found online.

Aniseed Essential Oil Oregano Essential Oil Eucalyptus Essential Oil

The powerful insecticide qualities of these three kill adult lice AND eggs!

Some Essential Oils are NOT safe for use during Pregnancy.

Essential Oils high in Ketones need to be totally avoided by pregnant women. Homeopaths, aromatherapy books and the public continue to debate which, if any, oils are safe enough to use during pregnancy. I feel it is much better to be safe than sorry.

Please see the chapter titled ‘Safe Head Lice Home Remedies’ on pg 40 for solutions that are safe for you and bubs.

KEEP ALL OILS OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

IMPORTANT: Essential oils are a highly concentrated medicine and should be treated as such. SOME ARE HIGHLY TOXIC IF INGESTED.

Please keep all essential oils out of the reach of children.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Essential Oils should never be applied directly to the skin without a carrier oil or shampoo base. Before you follow any of the recipes containing essential oils in this book, make up a small amount of the mixture and place a little under a band-aid on the inner arm. Any sensitisation or allergic reaction, discontinue use with that oil immediately.

Note to cat lovers: When I was researching the use of Tea Tree Oil, I found cats cannot efficiently metabolise substances present in certain essential oils (including Tea Tree oil), which therefore build up in the cat’s body. Tea Tree oil can be highly toxic to cats if they end up with it neat on their skin.

For this reason, although essential oils are beneficial and safe for humans they may be unsuitable for use around your cats. If you are a cat owner and you are going to use Tea Tree or any other kind of essential oil it will be best not to use a spray of any kind in any other part of the house except where absolutely necessary for use on your child.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook ZAP! Our Head Lice Remedy

! 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil ! 15 drops of Aniseed (Anise) Oil ! 50ml (3 T) Sesame Oil – supermarket ! 30ml (2 T) Neem Oil (preferably). If Neem is unavailable – Coconut Oil or Jojoba Oil ! Flea comb or a lice comb – not a plastic one, the teeth are too flexible and they are nigh on useless. ! Empty hair dye or squeezy bottle – supermarket ! Hair dryer (helps, but optional) ! Hair straighteners – they only need to heat up to 60 degrees Celsius to kill nits, so the expensive ones aren’t necessary.

This will take care of one child. This can be doubled if you don’t think it is going to be enough, remembering it does goes runny when warmed and does go a long way. These oils can be sourced from your local Homeopath or health food store by searching your local online yellow pages for ‘essential oils.’

Please see the member’s area for recommended sources in your country, to order online or local stores to visit.

The reasons why this remedy is so effective:

1). Tea Tree Oil is high in Terpinen-4-ol, which studies have found to be highly effective in killing adult lice. This can be found in higher concentrations in Nutmeg oil, but this can be fatal if ingested – best not to have it in the house. It can also be irritating to the skin.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

2). Aniseed oil has a high fatality rate for both lice and nits.

3). The Neem tree is native to India and is commonly known as the ‘Cure All’ tree. Neem oil is has been widely used in India for thousands of years as a natural insecticide.

The insecticidal properties of Neem are so effective because it is thought to disrupt the hormone system of the insect which is needed for normal bodily function. Remedies containing Neem Oil are known to be highly effective as Neem interrupts the growth and reproduction of the head louse. This means head lice exposed to Neem are unable to breed so there are no subsequent generations for resistance to develop.

Neem’s insecticidal properties are widely recognized now and the oil is commonly available at your local health food store. This is a semi-solid oil and may need to be warmed slightly to achieve the desired consistency.

4). Sesame oil boosts the efficacy of Neem oil 10 - 20 times.

Jojoba oil is effective (as well as some other carrier oils) as the exoskeleton of the lice is particularly soluble to lipids. Jojoba oil helps the essential oils with their insecticide qualities penetrate the cuticle of the lice.

5). Heat kills lice and eggs at just 60 degrees Celsius, so a hair dryer and hair straighteners kill both lice and eggs.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Directions:

1) Mix oils together in an empty hair dye bottle or anything where you can direct the oils close to the scalp, being very careful of the eyes.

It is much easier to section off parts then direct it into the roots rather than pour it all on top of the head and attempt to spread it out from there. This may work for boys but our girl has long thick hair.

2) Starting at the bottom of the head was easiest while pinning all of the rest of her hair on top of her head. Comb the bottom section down, coat in a line with the oils, let out another strip of hair and pour in close to the roots. Repeat this process until all the hair close to the scalp (where the lice lay their eggs) has been covered in the oils. If there are two of you, you can both go in from each side. Cover with a showercap.

3) The next step is to place a sweat band or tie a strip of towel just under where the shower cap sits as the oil becomes quite runny when it is warm. This is important to make sure that none of the oils runs into their eyes.

Another idea kindly offered by a member at the forums was she laid her daughter down on a rug watching her favourite movies and placed a plastic rubbish bag under her head. She wrapped her in an old towel so she didn’t have to pull a shirt over her head when it came to rinsing it out – being very careful of her eyes.

The lice will die pretty quickly but we left it on for as long as she would let us, to make sure the oil had time to permeate the eggs and go to work on them. Leave it on while they watch videos for 1 ½ - 2 hours or leave it on overnight.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

4) We then added 10 drops of Tea Tree oil and 2 T of Neem Oil to our normal shampoo and conditioner and washed her hair with this to repel them. As well as being a natural repellent, Tea Tree oil makes it very hard for the lice to attach their eggs to the hair shaft as it is too slippery for them.

5) Comb out any dead lice that did not wash out. The clear eggs are already dead, if you see any small dark ones that pop under your fingernail; these are the live ones that you need to worry about removing. Make sure because missed eggs are the most common cause of re-infestation.

6) We then dried her hair with a hair dryer.

7) Finally, we straightened with hair straighteners, carefully getting in as close to the roots as possible to zap any living eggs – even though we did not find any.

This step is important to get rid of any resistant eggs.

8) 7 days later, check for any new nymphs or eggs. Any eggs that are not killed will hatch from 1-7 days later. They need to be a nymph for at least 7 days until they can mate and lay eggs, so if you check back 7 days later and you find nymphs.

If you find nymphs, there is no need to repeat the treatment, but you will need to kill them.

I suggest at this point using the following Listerine Antiseptic method to kill any new nymphs. Simply comb it through the hair and leave it to dry. There is no need to go on full scale war against the eggs as they have already hatched.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

We did not see a return but you may have that particularly resistant breed that may return. Just keep an eye out, and follow the prevention methods listed next until such a time.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Method Two – Listerine Antiseptic

This method is safe for pregnancy.

With this method, there is no need to remove all the eggs.

Repeat this method once a week for three weeks.

Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash contains essential oils including thymol, eucalyptol, menthol and methyl salicylate. It is still probably best not to leave on your child’s scalp for any longer than absolutely necessary just to be cautious, but at least it is not a poison. It is designed to be gargled after all.

Listerine Antiseptic also has 26.9 percent alcohol (many report that alcohol is toxic to lice and kills them completely).

You will need: 2 bottles of Listerine Antiseptic – each application should take around half a bottle for long hair.

Directions: Apply over a bath or with a squeezy bottle. Comb through the hair and put into a plait or under a hat. Leave overnight or for a few hours.

You may see the lice coming to the edge of the hair as they try to escape the Listerine. Pick them off and kill them.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Method Three - Heat

Requires no oils, just heat and time.

! Flea comb or a lice comb – not a plastic one, the teeth are too flexible and they are nigh on useless. ! Hair straighteners – they only need to heat up to 60 degrees Celsius to kill nits, so the expensive ones aren’t necessary. ! Towel – wash in hot water immediately after ! Movies – to keep them entertained

This method will require about an hour of your time, but does not require anything other than a nit comb and hair straighteners. We used this method on my sister’s friend’s children with great success. Prevention methods made sure they never returned.

1) Tie all of your child’s hair on top of their head in a bun, sectioning out a strip at the bottom which hangs down their back. 2) Comb all lice and nits out of the strip with the flea or nit comb. Wipe all nits and eggs on the towel. 3) Straighten the strip until all eggs have been heated above 60 degrees. Product can be used to prevent damage to the hair from the heat. 4) Let down another strip of hair and repeat the lice and nit removal. 5) Straighten once again. 6) Repeat until every inch of hair has been covered.

Follow the prevention methods above and you should see the last of them. We thankfully no longer have a problem with them.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Prevention

Wash with the Tea Tree and Neem shampoo and conditioner from now on. This will repel them from coming back as they no longer regard them as human. Leaving the head for any other reason than to move to another human spells certain death, so they rarely (if ever) do.

We now have a leave in conditioner (or use hairspray) that we added 10 drops of Tea Tree to use in the mornings; this makes it hard for the lice to move through the hair. Nice clean hair gives lice a good grip.

We now keep her hair in a tight plait whenever she is playing with other children we suspect of being carriers. We filled an empty leave in conditioner bottle with water and 10 drops each of Tea Tree and Cinnamon Leaf Oil added which we spray over the plait to keep them away. Alternatively add two drops to your brush before brushing.

Every day we straighten with the hair straighteners to kill any new eggs. This takes around 15 minutes, but is well worth it.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Safe Remedy For Pregnancy & Toddlers

This alternative remedy was provided by Shannan who tested this solution for Live Lice Free’s pregnant members:

“I washed my hair in olive oil (which made it VERY shiny and soft!) and left it on for 1 hour. I then combed it with a nit comb (the tiny bristles!). (I got one dead louse off and heaps of eggs).

I then washed it out with hot water and morning fresh dish liquid.

I then rinsed it with white vinegar, which I left on for 15 minutes.

I have then washed the vinegar out with a coconut shampoo, and combed it again. There is nothing left in it! IT FEELS FANTASTIC. I will repeat in five days! Shannan

______

I then suggest you comb out any dead lice that do not wash out.

Adults, dry your hair with a hair dryer and finally straighten with hair straighteners, carefully getting in as close to the roots as possible to zap any living eggs. This step is important to get rid of any particularly evil, resistant eggs.

This is a completely safe and natural solution for use during pregnancy. Omit final steps for toddlers.

This will need to be repeated once a week for three weeks.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook More Safe Home Remedies Many, many thanks to all the mothers who shared their experiences with me, gave me moral support and helped me every way they could with this project.

“After spending around $700 on head-lice products, we were a little embarrassed that we were duped into parting with that much money. We were so annoyed after we had used our latest treatment, only to see bugs running around in her hair immediately afterwards.

We now know that head lice are more or less resistant to ALL over the counter products and the pesticides and chemicals that are in them do far more harm than good.

Some over the counter shampoos have known carcinogenic ingredients and dangerous pesticides; some are highly flammable due to the alcohol content. These poisons are KNOWN to build up in your system! The effects of these poisons are not known yet, but the amount of cancer of the kidneys and liver is rising at a rate we can’t ignore.

I’ve had friends who have sprayed furniture, carpets, and bedding with insecticides, which will do nothing except unnecessarily expose family members to toxic chemicals. Vacuuming carpet, drapes and furniture and cleaning surfaces with hot, soapy water will do fine.

I strongly discourage bombing and exposing your family to pesticides unnecessarily.

We now make our own head lice shampoo with what we have around the house and this works better than anything we have ever bought.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Most products aren’t able to eliminate lice completely because they don’t kill all the nits. Then when they are left behind they hatch and the process starts all over again.

Tea Tree oil kills the live bugs and acts as a deterrent. Vinegar is important as it softens the adhesive the female louse produces to stick the nit to the hair shaft and it also acts as a repellent. It is important to use vinegar otherwise it is very difficult to remove the eggs, making it likely they will be left behind when combing them out with a flea comb.

Use the following mixture just like regular shampoo except leave it in for a little longer than usual.

10ml Tea Tree Oil 2/3 small bottle Shampoo. Remaining 1/3 bottle fill with white vinegar.

That’s it!

You may need to use a dandruff conditioner afterwards. This home made remedy has kept the lice at bay better than any head lice product we have used.”

Sandy ______

“You’ll need a bottle of conditioner, to which you add 10ml peppermint oil, 2 tablespoons salt, ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup cider or apple cider vinegar.

Shampoo as you regularly do then leave this conditioner on for as long as possible while you are in the bath or cover with a shower cap. Apple cider vinegar is a natural anti-septic.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Rinse and then comb through with a metal flea or nit comb. It has to be a metal comb as the plastic ones are too flexible, the nits just slip through.

Wash the hair again with shampoo to which you add 10 drops of the peppermint oil, this will keep them away. Never had a problem since.”

Wendy ______

“I used conditioner mixed with Tea Tree oil.

Get yourself one of those big thick budget bottles of conditioner that you find at Pak N’ Save and pick up some Tea Tree Oil from a naturopath while you are out. You will also need a flea comb from the pet shop and a bowl of boiling water mixed with some dishwash.

Pour some of the conditioner into an empty shampoo or conditioner bottle that you have at home and add about 10ml of Tea Tree Oil per bottle of conditioner. Have movies or other activities ready.

Smother your child’s head with the mixture and leave on for at least 4 hours or all day. Make sure every part of the hair is covered as the head lice must be smothered and unable to breathe. Wrap your child’s hair with plastic wrap after smoothing all of the oxygen out.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

If you have an old woolen hat you can put this on so that they can still play and go about their normal day, this also helps to keep the mixture warm. The conditioner suffocates the little nasties and the Tea Tree Oil helps the eggs to slide right out. Rinse the conditioner out of your child’s hair.

Start wet combing through the hair as close to the head as possible as the eggs are laid very close to the scalp. Comb through each thin section of hair very carefully and then comb it through again, rinsing the mixture from the comb into the bowl of boiling water. Comb in all different direction until you have gone all over the head searching every inch for nits.

It is very important to repeat this process in five days time as new bugs don’t need oxygen in the first few days. You will inevitably miss a few nits and these will hatch so they need to be killed too.

For prevention, every day before school I would spray her hair with hairspray so that the bugs find it hard to attach to her head. My child’s hair was soft and shiny after this treatment and not a nit or louse in sight.“

Susan ______

“I mixed together 10 drops of Cinnamon Leaf Oil or Tea Tree Oil with 50 ml Vodka. Alcohol is deadly to bugs and makes the nits more permeable to the insecticide qualities of the oil.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Direct this mixture into the scalp with a squeezy bottle and massage it in. Leave this in overnight. The alcohol is flammable though, so do watch them around any open flames or heaters.

Wash off in the morning and rinse with ½ cup vinegar and ½ cup water mixed with a few drops of the Cinnamon Leaf or Tea Tree Oil. Condition with conditioner that has 10 drops of the Cinnamon or Tea Tree Oil added.

Every day for the next week, keep checking and combing out any that you see. At the end of the week, repeat the process. I mixed a spray bottle that contained 5ml of the oil with water and sprayed it into her plait before school and also onto carpets, toys and bedding every day.”

- Tracey ______

“You will need tea tree oil and olive oil, vinegar and a lice comb.

Mix up about 100 ml cup olive oil with 10ml tea tree oil. Wet the hair with the mixture and put on a shower cap. Leave in for one hour. Wash out the oil with Palmolive dishwashing liquid, this will cut through the grease.

With your child’s head over the sink, rinse the hair with a solution of ½ vinegar and ½ water. Put the shower cap back on leave for 10 minutes. Wash the vinegar out.

Put the vinegar rinse back through again. Leave again for 10 minutes, the glue should have been loosened by now. You will be able to comb all of the remaining eggs out very easily.

Repeat this process in 5 days. It is important to do it in 5 days as that is when any nymphs that have been missed will start to hatch.” - Leanne

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

“Mix ½ cup white vinegar and ½ cup of any oil that you have in the cupboard into a squeezy bottle. Add 15ml Tea Tree oil and shake it up.

Apply the mixture to the hair making sure you get it right to the roots. Wrap in glad wrap or put on a shower cap and leave for around four hours. The oil smothers the bugs, the vinegar loosens the glue that holds on the nits and the Tea Tree oil prevents them from coming back.

Comb the loosened nits and dead bugs out and repeat this process in 5 days time to catch the ones that you missed.”

Celina ______

“Mix together ¼ cup olive oil, 10 drops of lavender oil and 5 drops of Tea Tree oil.

I used this method after I had tried EVERYTHING to get rid of them, even ordering head lice treatments from overseas. Nothing worked and I just felt stupid for believing the pages of testimonials from ‘satisfied customers.’

Leave in the hair for around ½ hour or until the lice turn white and are easy to pick out.

This method kills all the nits as well so while it is a good idea to come out all the nits it is not absolutely necessary to catch every single one.

Wash the hair with shampoo with 10 drops of Tea Tree oil added. You can then use the Tea Tree shampoo every day as a preventative of further infestations.”

- Isabella

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

“After battling with lice for around four months and trying all the commercial shampoos, I was told by a friend that lice didn’t like essential oils that were minty or menthol based.

So I bought some peppermint oil and peppermint soap. I washed my son’s hair with the peppermint soap and left him sitting in the bath with the soap on his head and a few drops of the oil in the water.

I put a few drops in a spray bottle with warm water and sprayed all his toys and the carpets and anything he had come in contact with.

I then rinsed off the soap with a two litre milk bottle with warm water and a few drops of peppermint oil. I repeated this process for two weeks and they never came back.”

Susan ______

“After a few months of infestation I was at my wits end.

I was recommended by a friend to try a product from Avon that she had in her cupboard called ‘Skin So Soft.’

I think you can still get it but I haven’t had to for so long I’m not sure. I hope so because seriously, it was amazing. You could actually see them slow down, stop moving and die.

I poured it over my daughter’s hair until it was soaked with it and then I wrapped her head in glad wrap. I left it on for an hour and killed the live bugs.

I then used a flea comb to slide through the oil which made it much easier to comb. It took a couple of washes to get it out. I repeated the process a few days later when a couple of bugs reappeared. I combed through and thought I had all of the

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook eggs this time. Turns out I was right because they never returned.”

Juliette ______

“My Indian friend recommended I use coconut oil mixed with garlic powder. I wasn’t too keen on the garlic powder so I just used coconut oil that I got from an Indian supermarket.

I combed some coconut oil into her hair and scalp so it was soaked through. I plaited it and put a shower cap over it. It smelt lovely!

In the morning I combed, combed, combed and the nits and dead lice just came straight out. I washed out her hair with normal shampoo, it took three washes but I would just plait her hair and it eventually came out.

That day I got hold of some coconut essential oil and mixed it in with our normal shampoo. This has worked a treat. I kept checking but they have all gone. Great if you like coconut and hate nits!”

Tina ______

“My friend told me to get hold of a product called ‘Cetaphyl.’

It is a light liquid cleanser and when you spread it through the hair and blow it dry, it kind of ‘shrink wraps’ the bugs and suffocates them. I put it on in the morning. When the hair is dry you don’t even know it is on.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

That day I cleaned everything thoroughly, more than I ever do as I have been known to leave a few dust mice around from time to time! I am not a pig, but I do believe that a home should be lived in and not a hospital. I have a big deep freeze out the back and all her faves were thrown in a rubbish bag and frozen for two weeks. I felt terrible, but it had to be done.

I put her in the bath and shampooed her hair that evening. I made up a rinse of half apple cider vinegar and half water in a 1 litre milk container, got her to stand up in the bath and tipped half of it over her head over the sink. You may need to use another small bath to catch the drips.

Leave the vinegar in the hair for a few minutes and then rinse out with plain water. This loosens the nits and also helps to repel the lice.

I then coated her hair in cheap conditioner and had her sit in front of me while she watched a movie. The conditioner helps the flea comb get through.

I combed all the nits out – remember they wrap themselves around the hair so they have to be slid all the way to the end of the hair. Wipe the conditioner and nits onto a paper towel. Comb this way and that way until you have them all.

Finally, I poured the other half of the vinegar mix over her head, left it on for a few minutes and then rinsed it out with plain water. I blew dry just to be sure and to get the wet vinegar smell out of her face. No wonder bugs don’t like it!

They did come back in about two weeks time but this was because I didn’t realise that I needed to repeat the process in five days as this is the lice life cycle – the will hatch again in 5 days.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

It is a bit misleading because some say to repeat the process in 7 – 10 days, but this is too long. I haven’t had them back since and it has been 3 months now – fingers crossed!

Lily ______

“I used a semi-permanent hair colour and this killed all the lice, she loved her new shade too! I wasn’t about to use a permanent though.

I then washed the hair in Coke which is acidic, anything acidic will loosen the glue holding the nits to the hair shaft and the nits slid right out with a nit comb.”

Tracy ______

“I mixed 3 tablespoons of lemon juice with one tablespoon of melted butter. I rubbed this into my child’s scalp and left it in for 30 minutes. I then washed it out with ordinary shampoo. The nits and bugs washed straight out with no need to comb.”

Alyson ______

“I spread my child’s head with baby or mild, unscented moisturiser. I coated it on thick and smoothed out any air bubbles. Leave on for an hour and then comb it out, wiping the lotion and dead nits on a paper towel. Keep combing until no more nits come out on the comb. Wash out with Tea Tree shampoo to prevent them coming back.” - Brigitte

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

“I swear by Head and Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo.

This medicated shampoo and conditioner kills the bugs, keeps them away and is a darn site cheaper than nit shampoos.”

First we washed with the shampoo and then coated their hair with the conditioner, leaving it in for an hour under a shower cap. In this time we vacuumed all the carpets, rugs and everything else we could get our hands on – toys, hats, jackets and pillows.

Everything else went in on a hot wash.

We then went through their hair, combing out all the dead lice and nits and rinsing the comb after each stroke.

We washed every day for the next two weeks with head and shoulders. We now shampoo and condition once and week with it and they have never come back.”

Rowena ______

“After several hundred wasted dollars and 8 agonising months of over the counter treatments (you name it, I’ve tried them all), I was at my wits end. I would wash her hair with the latest shampoo and straight afterwards there would be live bugs in her hair.

They simply DID NOT WORK!

Then I tried plain old baby oil.

This quite simply suffocates them. Saturate your child’s hair with it and masking tape a shower cap around their head. Put a sweat band around the masking tape to catch any elusive drips. Wrap a towel around their head to keep the oil warm.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Comb out the dead lice and eggs after 2-3 hours. This kills the lice but not the eggs so be sure to remove them all.

I then use a cheap shampoo afterward, this strips out the oil. Condition with a good quality conditioner to replace the natural hair oils you have stripped.”

Francesca ______

“I also used baby oil, mixed with 5ml Lavender Oil, and 5ml Tea Tree Oil. Leave on for half an hour or until the dead lice turn white and are easy to comb out.

Prevent them returning by mixing a few drops of Tea Tree oil into your shampoo. Works like a charm.”

Madeline ______

“I used baby oil too, mixed with equal parts of white vinegar.

Leave on for an hour.

The vinegar loosens the nits glue and the baby oil helps them slide right out with combing. Once you have all the nits combed out, blow dry the hair on the highest setting, being careful not to burn the skin.

When the hair is dry, check that there are no nits remaining on the hair shafts, close to the head. If there is, you may need to soak your child’s hair in half vinegar and half water again. Wrap the head in a towel that has been soaked in this mixture as well. You can then comb out the remaining nits with a nit comb. Every evening I wash and blow dry my child’s hair myself with the

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook dryer on the highest setting to kill any bugs that she may have contracted that day.”

Laurie ______

“I used shaving cream!

10-15 minutes with a thick coating of shaving cream killed all the nits and the bugs dead. Shampoo hair.

I then left a mixture of ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ cup vinegar on the hair under a shower cap for an hour to loosen the dead nits which then combed right out.”

Carissa

“We soaked our daughter’s hair with Listerine Mouth-Wash, the original antiseptic brown one.

This killed all the bugs straight away. We left this on under a shower-cap for 1/2 hour just to be sure.

We then rinsed her hair with a solution of half vinegar and half water and the nits just combed right out. They never came back after that.”

Tania ______

“Yes, I used Listerine Anti-Septic too.

I would put it in a spray bottle and after I had washed their hair with shampoo and it was damp, I would cover their eyes and spray it on. I would leave it in for a few minutes then rinse it out. I

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook did this every second night in their bath for two weeks.

In the morning I would spray it through their dry hair. It smells strong at first but the smell goes away when it dries. They never came back.”

Adriana ______

“We used mayonnaise, olive oil and white vinegar.

Coat hair well with ‘Real’ Mayonnaise.

It must be full fat mayonnaise, not salad dressing, lite or home made as the oil is what smothers the lice. Coat dry hair well, right down to the tips.

Wrap with glad wrap or cover with a plastic bag or shower cap and leave for 3 hours. Wrap the head with a towel to keep warm and to catch the drips, alternatively you can heat the mayonnaise with a hair dryer. This smothers some and the rest are immobilized in the mayo so they are easy to remove.

Wash the mayonnaise out with Palmolive dishwashing liquid. This may take a couple of washes to cut the grease. Mix half a cup of olive oil and half cup white vinegar. Soak the hair in the mixture. Leave for 10 minutes and then wet comb the eggs out, wiping the mixture, lice and eggs on a paper towel.

Comb the hair up on top of the head and wrap once again with glad wrap for one more hour.

Shampoo hair one more time with anti-dandruff shampoo as all this could be very drying on the scalp. Blow dry the hair to kill

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook anything that could have possibly survived while combing out any stray nits. Repeat this process in a few days to kill any of the nits you missed.”

Annmarie ______

“We used mayonnaise and lemon or lime juice. We coated the hair in that ‘Real’ mayonnaise and then poured lime juice over the top. We combed the mayonnaise and lime mixture through with a flea comb that we bought from a pet shop, WAY less expensive than a nit comb!

Remove as many nits as you can this way. We washed her hair after combing out all the nits for about ½ hour, then wash it all out. It takes a two washes but you can get it out, unlike Vaseline, which took a month. I swear by this method!”

Cathryn ______

“I used mayonnaise to remove all my son’s lice and then always washed his hair with apple or coconut shampoo to prevent re- infestation.

Our school nurse recommended those flavour shampoos because they hate anything fruity. I would have thought they may have been attracted to the coconut, but we mixed coconut essential oil in with cheap plain shampoo and that did the trick with keeping them away.”

Jaqueline ______

Personally, I would never use mayonnaise and especially not putting them to bed with it on their head. Call me a worrywart but being a Chef for years I worry too much about Salmonella

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook and other such food related illnesses.

Some mothers swore by it so I did include their results. One mother agreed with me though and we had this discussion:

“I believe that mayonnaise works because it smothers the bugs, immobilizes the rest and the vinegar content loosens the glue that holds the nits to the shaft.

You can just as easily smother them with cheap conditioner and then put a rinse of white vinegar through to loosen the glue to the same effect.

You then need to comb out all of the remaining eggs. Any nits that you miss will hatch in 5 days so the process needs to be repeated then.”

Tash ______

“We used Salt and Shampoo.

Lice are soft bodied creatures and salt just sucks all the moisture out of them, a bit like what happens when you pour salt on slugs!

Take one bottle of shampoo or shower gel that has had about one or two washes out of it. Some shampoos or gels go watery when you add salt so try a bit of an experiment with them first. Add about 1/3 cup salt to a bottle of shampoo.

Pour over the head and leave on with a shower cap for about half an hour.

If there is any burning felt you have used too much salt. Immediately rinse and add some more shampoo to the mix.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

I don’t worry too much about sterilizing everything because lice can’t live off the body for too long. If they are going to get them, they are going to get them.

We get them back every now and again; I just repeat the process with the salt shampoo.

Comb through to get out any nits with anti-dandruff conditioner as the salt could be a bit drying.”

Natalie ______

“Garlic and zinc capsules are my secret weapons!

Garlic is well known to be a natural antioxidant and an antibiotic and Lice plain just don’t like zinc.

When they got lice the first time I gave them garlic capsules and the lice just disappeared! Every time there is a breakout in the school I give them a garlic and a zinc capsule. They never get infested even though everyone else is!”

Lynette ______

“I rubbed conditioner into my child’s dry scalp and put her to sleep with a towel on her pillow every night for two weeks.

In the morning we would rinse it off over the bath. We think this works because the conditioner coats her scalp so that they can’t feed, exactly the reason why Vaseline is purported to work. We simply do this every time there is an outbreak at school and never have any problems.”

Sarah

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Proceed With Caution.

“I used Vaseline, rubbed in close to the scalp every night which stops the bugs from feeding. In the morning, I used peanut butter to remove the Vaseline. It can be extremely difficult to remove though so prepare for more than one wash.”

If you decide to go with the Vaseline method, remember it is a petroleum product and therefore very flammable.

Never leave your children unattended with plastic bags on their heads as they can cause suffocation. I know of course you wouldn’t, but for my own peace of mind I just have to say these things

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Do Not Pass Go.

When my gorgeous niece came home with a dose of head lice from school, we were all quietly horrified, to say the least. I think we did quite well to contain how we felt, but in our own way we never really expected or were prepared for how much it was going to affect all of our lives.

In my quest to find the perfect head lice cure, I spoke with many mothers at my niece’s school, across forums and with anyone else who would talk to me about their head lice problems. I have made it my goal to test these remedies and discuss them with others so that we can all come to something that will work quickly, efficiently and with the least amount of nitpicking.

During this time I have heard of mothers trying some head lice home remedies that have been enough to make my own hair curl.

One mother had used ½ cup Kerosene mixed with ½ cup oil. She had combed it through and it had killed all the bugs immediately. She then combed all the dead nits and bugs out. This had worked a treat she said.

On further investigation, I found that kerosene is absorbed readily through the skin, is highly toxic and can even cause death.

One Grandmother had used diesel on her daughter who was now the mother of two. I was happy to have caught her before

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook she actually used it on her children, to advise her that diesel was not only highly flammable but extremely toxic as well. The scalp is extremely permeable to anything placed on it, absorbing up to 80%.

Other mothers had also used Isopropyl alcohol, lighter fluid and gasoline, all of which are highly flammable and extremely toxic. With gasoline, It must be remembered that it is not actually the gasoline that ignites but the fumes, so an open flame in any part of the room or immediate vicinity could mean everything exposed to the fumes will be engulfed in flame.

Some children have been admitted to hospital with horrific burns from the misuse of these highly flammable agents.

Please don’t used diesel or Kerosene on your children lest you want a quick trip to the ER!

One mother washed her daughter’s hair with dog flea shampoo. She worked it through her hair and left it on for about an hour, then washed it off with dandruff shampoo. Another had sprayed her child’s head with flea spray. She said she had never seen them die so fast.

This was just one of the stories where desperate mothers had resorted to chemical veterinarian products. Any chemical that kills pests is a pesticide, and all pesticides have the potential to cause serious side effects. These are even worse because they were not even labeled for head lice and are not intended for human use!

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Online in one particular forum I spoke with one mother who had used lawn care chemicals because it claimed to kill bugs in the grass. I was absolutely horrified. It MUST be remembered what these toxic products are for and the human risk involved with every toxic chemical.

Children’s scalps are especially absorbent; also there is a higher percentage of scalp area to body mass. Children’s immune systems are not as developed and can’t cope with toxic chemicals as adults do, making them particularly vulnerable. Parents need to be aware that even head lice treatments are not harmless; they come with the potential to do serious harm, no matter how they are used, let alone anything else.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook Head Lice Prevention Methods.

After any sort of treatment, prevention is the best cure for the future.

A light spray of hairspray of your child’s head before they leave the house every morning will make it hard for the bugs to attach themselves to their hair. Hair gel does the same. Bugs don’t like dirty hair because it is harder for them to attach to the shaft. These products work in exactly the same way.

5-8 drops of Tea Tree oil added to your favourite shampoo will keep them away, they hate Tea Tree oil. They are also known to dislike lavender oil. The shampoos that most of the mothers have tried said they didn’t have enough of the oil in them and they weren’t as effective as when they added it themselves, although it is better than nothing.

Vacuuming and dusting is all you will need to do to get rid of any live bugs. Using pesticide bombs unnecessarily expose your family to dangerous chemicals. Adults and nymphs are only able to survive for 2-3 days off the host, only in optimal conditions.

Under normal circumstances however this is more likely to be measured in hours rather than days as the adult louse is highly susceptible to dehydration and will quickly starve. Eggs can survive away from the host for up to 7 days but will not hatch without the warmth of a human host.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Studies have shown that it is very rare to contract head lice from the floor, with entire classrooms containing infected children being swept and nothing found. It has been found you have only a very slight chance of catching them from bedding, so save your energy for what matters most, ridding your child's head of lice and eggs.

“Every morning I blow dry my daughter’s hair and straighten in the evenings. The heat pops any new nits and the blow-drying kills any new bugs. It was so amazing! The dead lice were just falling out onto the floor!”

“Add about 10 drops of Tea Tree oil to water in a spray bottle and spray bedding, carpets, toys, even your pets. Bugs hate the smell so it will repel them.”

“After I killed all the bugs in our children’s hair, we went away camping for the weekend! We left on Friday after school and came back on Sunday evening to a lice free home. We had the best time too with badminton, hiking, biking and enjoying each other’s company in the great outdoors. Highly recommended excuse if you haven’t had a holiday for a while!”

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

“I put up one of those old fashioned fly strips where they tended to breed, over the chair and in the bedroom, this helped to keep them from returning.”

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Voices from The Live Lice Free Forums

Not really a remedy, more of a prevention

Lice go on the move twice a day, once in the morning straight after getting up and once in the evening just after bed. This is due the warm places around the head changing. If you damage the lice’s legs they will die fairly smartly as they can no longer get to the scalp to feed.

In the morning as soon as she got out of bed we took her outside and brush, brush, brushed with her head over the garden. In the evening we read her a story, then brush, brush, brushed with her head over the bath. This will deal to any that have found their way back to her head.

Tea Tree Oil Mixed With Gel

A mother at school and I were discussing head lice (as you do) the other day and she cured her boys head lice by mixing 20 drops of tea tree oil in with some hair gel.

The first night she covered his hair with it and covered with a showercap and got him to wear it to bed. This suffocated all the lice and she manually removed all the nits. She got him to get a haircut that required gel every day and got him to use it, he actually really liked his new style. The hair lice can't get a grip on the hair shaft because it is like the hair is dirty and they hate Tea Tree oil.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

She hasn't seen a return. Great idea for boys I think.

Campho Phenique

My daughter had lice so bad that even the lice shampoos wouldn’t get rid of them. So iIhad to take her to the Dr., He told me to go get a couple of bottles of Campho Phenique.

Because she has long hair I bought 3 bottles b/c he said it needed to be saturated, leave on for about 5-10 min and with a very fine tooth comb or nit comb, comb through hair while setting. The only thing my daughter said it made her head feel tingly like peppermint.

Rinse it out being very careful to keep out of eyes, then shampoo hair then comb thoroughly again. I hope this helps others it sure did us. I thought it was crazy at first but hey to my surprise it worked she was back to school the next day.

I definitely think aniseed oil

My remedy that worked for me was olive oil, tea tree oil, sweet almond oil and then what I think is the killer, a few drops of aniseed oil.

I put this on her scalp and left it on for an hour.

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

I got my aniseed oil on TradeMe.

Garlic tablets and Vitamin B were our secret weapons.

One way of treating head lice is with antibiotics. These are commonly prescribed as a second line of defense usually along with a chemical treatment.

It is thought that the antibiotics kill the bacteria in the gut of the lice. These bacteria are essential for the digestion of nutrients in the blood they consume and when killed, the head lice then starve to death.

The reason why garlic is so effective is that it works the same way as prescribed antibiotics without the inevitable side effects. As it is a natural solution so the lice don't develop a resistance as they readily do with prescribed antibiotics.

Worked for us along with a treatment of Tea Tree Oil, Oregano Oil and Olive Oil. The antibiotic properties of garlic have so far kept them away.

Cetaphyl and the Nuvo Remedy

I have three girls and I have found this has been the only thing that has worked. It was thought up by a Doctor called Dr Dale Pearlman, there was a bit of controversy about it because he was charging a fortune for treatment but all he was using was

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Cetaphyl gentle skin cleanser.

The way to do it is soak your child's hair in Cetaphyl cleanser, leave for a few minutes then comb it all out along with the lice and the nits. This part is fairly messy. Make sure you have the whole head covered with it.

Once all the cream is combed out you blow dry the hair. The nits and the lice are shrink wrapped and they suffocate. With the hair dryer on high heat blow dry until the hair is completely dry. Leave for at least 8 hours.

Repeat this process once a week for 3 weeks. This has been the only thing that has worked for my girls. I also do the usual, bagging items and washing on a hot wash.

Good luck, and stay in touch!

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

Do you have a great tip or recipe to share with Live Lice Free readers?

Please post it to the forums or email it through to [email protected]

I hope this information has been useful to you, please feel free to email me your findings to be added to future print runs of this book.

Thanks and good luck on your path to Living Live Free!

Live Lice Free – The Headlice Handbook

The Fine Print:

All Rights Reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically including via photography, recording or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written consent by the author: Susan Thomas. Illegal and unlawful distribution of this material will result in legal action being taken. Violators will be ordered to pay restitution, damages and all court costs. Notice: Under present TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and APVMA (Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority) guidelines and requirements, myself and all others who offer natural or alternative remedies are prohibited from making claims that our products will prevent, treat, cure, or diagnose any diseases. Because of this, all information in my book is here for educational purposes only Disclaimer: Any advice given should not be substituted for that of your family doctor or of a trained professional. This website and book are therefore deemed for educational purposes only. You are advised to check with your doctor before undertaking any new course of treatment. The results that have been found by Live Lice Free members are not indicative of the outcome for everyone and results may vary.

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